TLU Men’s Soccer Selected to Implement Professional German Soccer Club

Nationally recognized coaching staff, distinguished alumni, and selected student-athletes help connect NCAA Division III excellence with professional soccer, youth leadership development, cultural exchange, and community impact during FIFA World Cup 2026.

SEGUIN, TEXAS - June 2026 - TLU Men's Soccer will play a central leadership role in an international soccer collaboration involving German professional soccer club SV Darmstadt 98, Goal Impact Foundation, and Mainland Sports Complex during the Global Soccer Experience on June 14 in San Antonio, Texas.

Taking place during the opening days of FIFA World Cup 2026, the initiative positions TLU Men's Soccer at the center of a unique international collaboration that highlights the program's growing reputation for excellence, leadership, player development, and innovation while providing valuable exposure for the university and its student-athletes.

In a significant vote of confidence, Goal Impact Foundation, through its international collaboration with SV Darmstadt 98, selected the TLU Men's Soccer coaching staff to implement the club's professional development training methodology during the activation. In the absence of SV Darmstadt 98's academy coaching staff, TLU Men's Soccer coaches will serve as the lead instructors responsible for delivering the on-field player experience and representing the club's developmental philosophy.

For a professional European club to entrust its methodology and participant experience to an NCAA Division III coaching staff speaks to the caliber, professionalism, and credibility that TLU Men's Soccer has established within the sport.

The selection follows a historic 2025 season in which Head Coach Eddie Salazar and Assistant Coach Jimmy Flores were named the 2025 United Soccer Coaches West Region (Region X) Coaching Staff of the Year, one of the highest coaching honors awarded within collegiate soccer.

The significance of the opportunity extends beyond recent competitive success.

The collaboration reunites three former teammates from TLU Men's Soccer's 2002 conference championship team that advanced to the NCAA NationalTournament. More than two decades later,Eddie Salazar, Jimmy Flores, and Joey aka Bati continue to serve as ambassadors for the program and the university through coaching, entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, mentorship, and community engagement.

Today, their collective efforts have helped position TLU Men's Soccer within an international collaboration involving a respected professional European soccer club, a growing nonprofit organization, and community partners committed to youth development, leadership, and community impact.

The activation itself is the result of relationships cultivated over decades and serves as a powerful example of what can happen when alumni remain actively invested in the institutions and programs that helped shape them.

Rather than waiting for opportunities to arrive, Salazar, Flores, and Bati have spent years creating them.

Their commitment to the sport, the university, and the development of future generations has helped elevate TLU Men's Soccer into a program recognized not only for competitive success, but also for leadership, service, innovation, and meaningful collaboration beyond the field.

As part of the activation, the TLU Men's Soccer coaching staff selected a group of current student-athletes to assist with implementation and event delivery, extending the program's leadership development model beyond the coaching staff and into the next generation of Bulldogs.

The opportunity was not extended solely on the basis of athletic performance. Instead, the coaching staff established a selection process designed to identify student-athletes who embody the professionalism, accountability, communication skills, leadership qualities, work ethic, and character standards expected within a professional soccer environment.

The selected Bulldogs will work alongside coaches, international representatives, community leaders, youth participants, and event organizers throughout the activation, gaining firsthand experience within an international soccer collaboration while serving as ambassadors of the university and the program.

The initiative reflects a core principle of the TLU Men's Soccer program: developing leaders, not simply players.

By entrusting student-athletes with meaningful responsibilities and exposure to professional-level expectations, the coaching staff continues to create educational experiences that prepare students for success long after their playing careers conclude.

For the selected student-athletes, the activation represents a rare opportunity to contribute to an event involving a professional European club while demonstrating the leadership culture that has become a hallmark of the program.

The Global Soccer Experience also challenges long-held assumptions surrounding collegiate athletics.

While TLU competes at the NCAA Division III level, the initiative demonstrates that professional standards and meaningful impact are not defined by athletic classification. They are defined by leadership, expertise, preparation, culture, and execution.

In today's global sportslandscape, excellence can emerge from any levelwhen talented individuals are empowered to lead. The trust placed in TLU Men's Soccer by Goal Impact Foundation and SV Darmstadt 98 reinforces a reality oftenoverlooked in college athletics: the difference between programs is not always resources or classification, but the vision, commitment, and professionalism of the people leading them.

For Goal Impact Foundation and SV Darmstadt 98, the decision was straightforward. The selection was not based on institutional size or athletic classification. It was based on confidence in the coaching staff's ability to deliver a professional-level experience while representing the values of player development, education, leadership, and community impact.

The result is a unique example of how a nationally recognized NCAA Division III program can contribute meaningfully within the international soccer ecosystem while creating opportunities often associated with much larger institutions.

The initiative also reflects the broader mission of Goal Impact Foundation, whose founding officers include distinguished TLU alumni committed to leveraging sport as a platform for education, leadership development, international collaboration, and community impact.

Joey aka Bati, a founding officer of Goal Impact Foundation, previously returned to his alma mater as the youngest alumnus ever selected to deliver a TLU commencement address, sharing his widely recognized "Afford To Care" message centered on leadership, service, and purposeful action. That same philosophy continues to guide Goal Impact Foundation's work today.

Beyond the on-field activities, organizers view the Global Soccer Experience as a demonstration of how educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, professional sports clubs, and community stakeholders can work togetherto create opportunities that generate lasting value for young people and the communities they serve.

Equally important, the activation showcases a leadership pipeline that spans generations of Bulldogs; from former student-athletes who now serve as coaches, nonprofit officers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, to current student-athletes being entrusted with meaningful responsibilities during an international activation. It reflects a culture in which leadership is expected, cultivated, and passed forward.

As the soccer world turns its attention to North America during FIFA World Cup 2026, TLU Men's Soccer stands as proof that world-class leadership can emerge from anywhere and that the impact of a program should never be measured solely by the division in which it competes.

For decades, TLU Men's Soccer has demonstrated that excellence is not reserved for the programs with the largest platforms or highest classifications. Instead, it is built through culture, consistency, relationships, accountability, and people committed to serving something larger than themselves.

The Global Soccer Experience represents the latest chapter in that story.

For TLU Men's Soccer, the activation represents both recognition of past achievement and an opportunity to demonstrate how leadership, relationships, and service can create pathways from NCAA Division III athletics to the international stage while creating meaningful opportunities for the next generation of Bulldogs.

Participating organizations include SV Darmstadt 98, Goal Impact Foundation, Texas Lutheran University Men's Soccer, Mainland Sports Complex, Craft Sportswear USA, Latitude Change BBQ, and regional community partners committed to advancing youth development through sport.

ABOUTGOAL IMPACT FOUNDATION

Goal Impact Foundation is a Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, education, leadership, and sport. Founded by distinguished Texas Lutheran University alumni, the Foundation creates opportunities that connect educational institutions, sports organizations, community stakeholders, and international partners through initiatives designed to generate meaningful social impact.

Through its collaborative impact framework, Goal Impact Foundation develops programs and experiences that promote leadership development, cultural exchange, community engagement, and international relationship-building while creating opportunities for young people to learn, grow, and lead through sport.

The Foundation's growing international collaboration network includes partnerships across sports, education, business, and civic sectors, leveraging the power of sports to create connections that extend beyond the game and produce lasting value for communities.

TLU Men's Soccer serves as the official training, leadership development, and player experience partner for the June 14 Global Soccer Experience activation.